Night in the Woods
by Kamije Celeek
Summary: Nikki dropped out of college and returned home after two years, expecting everything to be the same as when she left. But things aren't exactly right. One friend has gone missing and another is being extremely hostile towards her for no apparent reason. Her parents are keeping a secret. Then she finds a dismembered arm in front of the diner and her life is thrown into chaos...
1. Home Again

**Inspired by the indie game "Night in the Woods".**

* * *

 _"I get it. This won't stop until I die. But when I die, I want it to hurt. When my friends leave, when I have to let go, when this entire town is wiped off the map, I want it to hurt. Bad. I want to lose. I want to get beaten up. I want to hold on until I'm thrown off and everything ends. And you know what? Until that happens, I want to hope again. And I want it to hurt. Because that means it meant something. I means I am something, at least...pretty amazing to be something, at least..."_

-Mae Borowski, _Night in the Woods_ Part 4, "The End of Everything: The Hole in the Center of Everything"

* * *

Nikki stepped off the bus and entered the bus station. She'd been the only one to get off the bus and the station was completely empty.

"Well, this is disappointing," she muttered, running a hand through her messy green hair. "I mean, it's not like I expected a party or anything, but I at least expected _somebody_ to be here." She sighed. "Welcome home, Nikki."

She glanced around and took notice of the new mural. It was of a train and idyllic surroundings, reading 'Welcome to Sleepy Peak!'

"Wow, when did they put _this_ up? Sleepy Peak has never looked more… falsely advertised."

Nikki noted that the payphone had been ripped off and that the TV was on. There was also a janitor fiddling with the door. He had a long gray mustache and was wearing a plaid jacket over a pair of blue jeans. One of his hands was the drill he was using to fiddle with said door.

"Hey, where is everybody?" she asked.

"It's 10:45. It's closed," he grunted. "Not many folks getting off the last bus to Sleepy Peak these days. Just you."

"Why are the lights on? Why is the TV on?"

"I get spooked when I'm here by my lonesome." He didn't move to let her through.

"Can I… squeeze past you?"

"Nope. Just broke the damn thing."

"How long will it take to fix?"

"Until you grab me a Fiascola from the machine over there."

"…am I paying for this?"

"I always rig it when I'm here after hours."

"Nice. Free as in… free?"

"Free as in no one's here to say otherwise."

He went back to messing with the door. Nikki headed over to the soda machine and glanced at the buttons.

"They have _Lime Fiasco_ and he wants a Fiascola? That's just a waste." She shook her head in disappointment. In one quick movement, she jabbed the button for Fiascola and grabbed the can from the machine. She then headed back over to the old man.

"You got my drink?"

"Yeah. Here. One Free-Ass-Cola." She handed him the can and he drilled a hole in the bottom, drinking it that way.

"Yummers." He didn't move.

"So when do you think that door's going to be fixed?"

"…now. Goodbye." He walked out the door and the lights and TV immediately shut off. Nikki was alone in the dark and empty bus station, and she realized just how spooky it was. She hurried outside, the door locking shut behind her.

"Here I am, at the bus station, Mom and Dad nowhere to be found. Guess I'm walking. Alone."

She began walking towards the woods, listening to the sound of the distant train. She'd missed it at school, remembering how it had lulled her to sleep in the winter when the leaves were down. It was familiar, comforting. The bus station was the newest thing in town, since Sleepy Peak had gotten state funding or something, and it made a nice first or last impression when arriving in or leaving Sleepy Peak. If it weren't for the abandoned glass factory in the background they wouldn't be getting rid of anytime soon.

"The woods," she mumbled. "Through the woods is home. My bed. And my negligent parents."

Nikki began to climb down into the ravine that led up to Sawmill Park. There wasn't much there, just some dank nature and garbage. She could see where the old logging road had been, since it was evident they'd lost a log load at some point. Taking a deep breath, she began to climb the rickety logs that blocked her path before they dislodged, sending her flying backwards as they slipped further into the ravine and made an actually decent path to climb.

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "That was dangerous. I could've died. That was _amazing_!" Nikki was silent for a moment. "I am _not_ going to die in this hole."

Carefully, she climbed the convenient path that had been made by the fallen logs and made her way into Sawmill Park. She could remember playing there as a kid, back when things had been much different and it had just been her and her mom. The 'boat castle', as she'd called it, had fallen into disrepair. Nobody had been up there in a while, it seemed, and it was just a thing for animals to eat and have babies in.

Her magenta gaze landed on the towering fence that blocked her from getting into town. Fortunately, she was good at climbing and managed to get a good grip on the chain-link. She got to the top and began to climb down, but the fence swayed from her weight and she released her grip. As a result, she tumbled to the ground, where a flashlight shone in her face.

"Hello, Nikki. Been a while."

She looked up to see her aunt Molly—Aunt Mall Cop, as Nikki affectionately called her. Molly was a solidly-built woman with pale green hair that she kept in a tight bun on the back of her head. She was also wearing her police uniform, her gun visible on one hip. Her police cruiser was parked a few feet behind her, the engine still idling.

"Hey. What are you doing out here?"

"I was doing my rounds when I saw you in the very off-limits playground."

"Oh."

"Get in the car, Nikki."

"No."

"You wanna spend your first night back in jail, Nikki?"

"…no."

Nikki got into the back of Molly's cruiser and her aunt drove her to the house she'd grown up in. The lights in the living room were on, signaling that _somebody_ was still up. The former college student got out of the car and used her key to open the door. Her dad, William, was sitting on the living room couch, watching some talk show.

"Hi. Remember me?" Nikki asked, startling her father.

"AGH! Nikki, you gave me a heart attack!" he yelped.

"Good!" She spread her arms in frustration.

"What are you doing—oh. Oops. Nikki, we thought you were coming home _tomorrow_ night."

"Well, you thought wrong."

"How did you get here?"

"I walked until I got arrested by Aunt Mall Cop, who drove me here."

"Did you say hi to Molly for me?"

"No. I say hi for no one. I'm going up to bed. Is my bed still here, or are we waiting for tomorrow night for that, too?"

"Ah, Nikki. So good to hear that voice again. Again, I'm sorry we messed up."

"Good night."

"Night."

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the window of Nikki's attic bedroom. She yawned and stretched before getting dressed and heading downstairs, where she found her mother in the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom," she greeted Candy.

"Hiya, sugar. Welcome home."

"Thanks for not changing the locks."

"Look, honey, I'm sorry we mixed up the night you were coming back. It was just such short notice."

"It's fine. I'm home now."

"…honey, did something happen?"

"Nothing happened. I just… needed to come home."

"Well, I think you can understand my concern. That's not just something a college sophomore up and does."

"I know… hey, have you seen Max around?"

"He works down at the Snack Falcon in Towne Centre."

"We have a Snack Falcon now?"

"Oh, yeah. It's so handy! Ever since the Food Donkey went out."

"The Food Donkey's gone?!" Nikki felt a sense of shock.

"Going on almost a year now."

"Where does everyone shop?"

"They all go out to the Ham Panther out by the highway, but I see your little friend Max when I go into town."

"Wow… so much has changed."

"It's a whole new world, sweetie!"

"In that case, I'm going to explore. See you, Mom!"

"See you, Nicolette!"

Nikki headed out into the neighborhood. Fall was definitely in the air; leaves were falling and neighbors were raking them up. She slid past Mr. Twigmeyer, who questioned why she wasn't still at school, and up towards Main Street. Nerris Buchanan waved hello from her porch and Nikki saw David Greene (Max's adoptive father) standing on his.

"Nikki?!" he gasped, leaping down the steps.

"Hey, David," she greeted him before he grabbed her in one of his typical bone-crushing hugs.

"Oh, you're home! How long are you going to be back?"

"I'm home for good. College… just wasn't for me."

"I'm sure Max will be excited to see you. He's working full-time now, down at the Snack Falcon."

"I heard. I'm actually heading over there to see him."

"Be sure to come by my roof later this week. I bought a new telescope."

"I will. Bye, David!"

She ran down the street and spotted the Snack Falcon. There wasn't anybody inside but a familiar curly-haired Indian boy with bright green eyes. He had a bored expression, from what she could see, and he couldn't see her from where he was. Nikki entered through the automatic doors, and he looked up at the sound of the little bell.

"Holy shit— _Nikki_?!" He sat up straight.

"Hey, Max."

"What the fuck? I thought you left!"

"I did, but now I'm back."

"Back as in today?"

"Back as in _back_."

"Too bad you didn't die at college." She smirked.

"Too bad you didn't catch a flesh-eating disease."

"Too bad you didn't join a murder-cult."

"Too bad you didn't lose all your limbs in a freak soda machine accident."

"God, it's good to see you. Hold on a sec." He slid off the stool and over to the CD player.

"What are you doing?"

"Changing the music!" A jazzy-sounding song began to play throughout the store and Max came out from behind the counter.

"So…?"

"So, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I live here!"

"Since when?"

"Since last night, eleven or so?"

"Oh, it's so great that you're back. I've been losing my fucking _mind_ without you around."

"It's great to _be_ back. So much has changed…"

"Come to band practice."

"Oh my God, the _band_ is still a thing?"

"Yep. Neil and I have kept it going."

"When's practice?"

"Now."

"When do you get off work?"

"Now!" He dashed back behind the counter and grabbed a time-card, punching out for the night before running out the door. Nikki ran after him, all the way to the former Party Barn. There, she could see Neil setting up his microphone.

"Neil!" she greeted her.

"Oh my God! You're _actually_ back!" he gasped, standing up.

"She's back for good!" Max stated, punching his nerdier friend in the arm before turning back to Nikki. "I have your old drum kit. Most of it's set up, but I need to grab the cymbals and sticks from the back. You _have_ to play with us."

"Oh, dude, I don't even think I remember…" she murmured as he ran into the back. The door opened and a girl Nikki hadn't spoken to in a very long time walked through.

"Nikki, you know Erin, right?" Neil asked her.

"Oh, yeah. Hi."

"Hi," Erin greeted her curtly.

"You here for band practice?"

"I play bass."

"That's not bass. That's computer."

"It's fine," Nerris told her. "He also does your drum parts."

"Well, I _understood_ them as the drum parts, but I can turn them off."

" 'Turn them off', on your computer." Max set the suspended cymbal and sticks on the kit.

"We're gonna play a song. You _have_ to play drums," he told her.

"This is so weird…"

She got up behind her drums and tapped them experimentally. Max had evidently kept her kit in pristine condition, tuning and all. It was as if she'd just played them the day before, rather than two years ago.

 _Two years since I last lived here…_

* * *

"Pizza!"

Neil laughed as Nikki threw her arms in the air. The waitress brought them the pizza their party of four had ordered, divided into eight slices. Each of them took a slice, feeling a flurry of emotions at Nikki's homecoming.

"You miss pizza, Nik?"

"Max, they have pizza at school!"

"Yeah, but not _diner_ pizza."

"Diner pizza's horrible," Neil snorted. "It's no Pastabilities."

"Neil, according to the pizza scale, there is no such thing as horrible pizza," Nikki told him sternly.

"I told you, that's not a thing."

"Everything above the worst pizza is pretty damn good. There's no such thing as horrible pizza unless it's burnt. Nobody wants to eat that shit. But screw it—pizza good."

"The diner has charm," Erin pointed out.

"Anyway, when are we going to play out?"

"We don't 'play out', Nikki. We have jobs."

"All of you?"

"I work at the book-and-video store," Neil informed her, nodding.

"I'm at the Snack Falcon," Max added.

"And I'm working at the Ol' Pickaxe," Erin finished.

"Isn't that your dad's store?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Uh… nothing." She cleared her throat, something suddenly occurring to her. "Where's Ered"

"Oh, you wouldn't know, would you?" Neil inquired. "Ered's… gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"Hopped a train, I bet," Max sighed.

"Oh, wow. She always talked about doing that."

"Yeah, one day she was just… gone. Made a clean break; hasn't emailed or anything."

"Her dads put up missing posters, but everyone knew what happened," Neil finished.

"Well, we'd better be getting home," Neil broke in. The others nodded and stood up, Max picking up the check. All four of the twenty-somethings exited the diner onto the sidewalk, the crisp fall air hitting their faces.

"It's great to be home," Nikki chirped once they were outside.

"We can hang out again, just like we used to," Max agreed. "It's boring without you."

"Oh my God!" Neil gasped.

"Holy crap!" Erin whispered sharply

"What's wrong?" Nikki asked, worried.

"Is… is that an arm?"

"That's an arm," Neil agreed.

"Nobody move," Max instructed, holding up his arms. "Let's poke it with a stick."

"I call first!" Nikki grabbed a stick out of the bushes and crouched by the dismembered limb.

"Nikki, I'm pretty sure this is tampering with evidence," Erin stated.

"Shush. I wanna watch this," Max told her.

"You don't need your ears to watch."

"SHUSH!"

Nikki poked at the arm, moving the sleeve of the army jacket to reveal… a tattoo?

"Is… is that some kind of mark?" she asked her three friends.

"I think it's a tattoo," Neil replied.

"Definitely a tattoo," Max confirmed.

"Now, what's going on here?"

"Uh-oh!"

They all looked to see Molly standing there, arms crossed.

"Hi, Aunt Mall Cop!" Nikki greeted her aunt. "We found an arm!"

"I can see that. Now, I don't want any of you walking home alone tonight. Something bad's going on."

"I can drive Nikki home, officer," offered Erin.

"Thank you, Erin."

"Neil lives with me and David, so we'll just walk," Max informed the officer.

"Good." Molly began speaking into her walkie-talkie.

* * *

Riding in the car with Erin was awkward as hell. Nikki shifted uncomfortably in the seat and glanced at the blue-haired girl.

"So, working at the Ol' Pickaxe, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Are they training you to take over the family business?"

"Who?"

"Your parents?" Erin stopped the car.

"We're here."

"Um, actually, my house isn't for a few more blocks."

"Get out."

"Okay."

Nikki got out of the car and watched Erin speed off. She sighed and began walking towards the house, where her dad was watching that same talk show from the night before on the couch.

"Have a good day, Nickname?" he asked her.

"I hung out with Max and Neil and Erin for a little bit. Then we found an arm on the sidewalk."

"An _arm_?!"

"Aunt Mall Cop showed up and everything. I poked it with a stick."

"Okay, Nikki, _please_ don't go poking dismembered limbs with sticks. I never thought I'd have to tell you that, but here I am." He cleared his throat. "How were your friends?"

"Apparently, Neil's living with Max and David now, and both of them have jobs? And they're hanging out with Erin. Max _hated_ Erin in high school."

"Well, people change, sweetheart. And it's not always a bad thing. If it helps you make a few new friends, then welcome the change."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Didn't _you_ used to be friends with Erin first?"

"That was before Max came. And Erin started hanging out with those mean girls… it was a mess." She shook her head. "I'm going up to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Nickname."

Nikki headed up to her room and pulled off her boots, settling into bed for the night. Tomorrow would be better.


	2. The Party

Nikki finished pulling on her T-shirt and glanced at her laptop.

"It's literally been 36 hours since I've been online," she stated. "This shall not stand!"

She opened the lid and logged on—only to be smacked in the face with 'hot chat' and 'singles in your area' pop-ups. She tried to close them out, but more popped up. Nikki let out a frustrated groan as her screen glitched.

"Agh! No! What is _wrong_ with you?! I bet Neil could fix this… he's all computery. But I can't let him see… _this_." She tapped her chin. "Where does he work again?"

Abandoning her laptop on the bed, she ran downstairs, greeting her mom with a brief hello before running out the door. She ran smack into her neighbor, Mr. Campbell.

"Hey, you, kid!" he greeted her.

"Adult," she replied.

"So, you're back, eh?"

"Yes, Mr. Campbell."

"Didn't last long, eh?"

"No, Mr. Campbell."

"You get a job yet?"

"I've only been back for, like, twenty-four hours."

"Soon it'll be 'only a week', then a month, then your whole life!"

"You're right. I have so much time left."

"Nobody's forgotten who you are and what you did, you know. They may act like they have, but that's just small-town polite right there."

"Is that what this is?"

"Small-town polite's all you got, kid, so watch it."

"Well, that was really interesting, but I have to go listen to my cells die."

"Bah!"

"Pah!"

Nikki started walking towards town. She'd have to ask Max where Neil worked, since she couldn't remember for the life of her. She passed most of the same people she had the day before on her walk, until she reached the benches by the war memorial. There, a girl she recognized as a high-schooler was sitting there.

"Hey, Killer," the girl greeted her.

"Ugh, people are still talking about that?"

"I was in middle school when it happened. People were scared, since they didn't know if you were going to do it again. Our mothers told us not to talk to you."

"Well, tell your mother I said 'hi'. She sounds lovely."

"Oh, she's gone."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"Who are you, anyway?"

"Mercy."

"Nice to meet you, Mercy. I'll see you around."

"Bye."

Nikki continued into the Snack Falcon, where Max was sitting in the same spot as the day before. He brightened immediately upon seeing her.

"Thank God you're here. This job is so fucking _boring_."

"I wish I could hang out, but I need to find Neil. Have you seen him?"

"He's at work, too."

"Yeah, but _where_ does he work?"

"At the Ink and Film down the street. Why do you need him?"

"Computer problems." She refused to look him in the eye and he nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, he's helped me with those kind of problems before. See you later, if I don't kill myself to stop my boredom…"

"Please don't. I need my Maxie-Pad." He groaned and banged his head on the table as she snickered.

"I hate that nickname."

"That's what you get for making fun of me when I got my period."

"We were _ten_. I barely knew what that _meant_."

"It means my body is punishing me for not being pregnant. See you later."

"Bye."

She jogged down the street and into the Ink and Film—Sleepy Peak's premiere book-and-video store. It had once been an electronics shop, but then Lester had retired and passed it onto his grandkids. And Neil wasn't inside. Instead, there was a girl chewing gum and looking just as bored as Max.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Neil?"

"Oh, he works day-shift."

"It _is_ day."

"I got here early. He should be home now."

"Okay, well thank you."

Nikki left the store and headed to where she remembered Max and David lived. She knocked on the door and David opened up.

"Hello, Nikki. I'm afraid the telescope's not quite set up yet, if that's what you're here for. And Max is still at work."

"I'm here to see Neil."

"He's right upstairs. Second door on the left."

"Thanks, David. And I'll be sure to stop by to check out that telescope."

As she walked up the stairs, she noticed the pictures lining the walls. Some, like the picture from the day Max's adoption had gone through, were familiar. Others were new, like the picture of her, Max, Neil, and Ered on the day of their high-school graduation. It made her heart twist a little.

 _That was only two years ago… and now Ered's gone. Max and Neil both have jobs. And I'm a college dropout without anything going for me._

"Neil?" she called through the door.

"Nikki?" he replied, opening it up. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm having computer problems and I was hoping you could help." He glanced down at her empty hands.

"I'm going to guess that you have the same virus Max gets at least once every six months. Come on." She followed him into the room. The walls were lined with posters of famous scientists, like Marie Curie and Einstein. His poster of Edison that she remembered was gone, though.

"Where's your Edison poster?" He was rummaging through his desk drawers.

"Stolen and shredded by Rosemary Campbell."

"When the hell was Rosemary Campbell in your room?"

"We have the same online college courses, so she pops in to study with me sometimes. And the first time she came over, she saw the poster and ripped it down."

"Why?"

"She hates Thomas Edison. Said he was a thief and a liar. To make up for it, she bought me that one." He tapped a poster of a man with a mustache surrounded by electrified coils. "Nikola Tesla. A man who was a self-made inventor."

"That was nice of her."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't want a picture of somebody who electrocuted an elephant and got it on film just to discredit somebody else on my wall." He held up a USB drive. "Got it! Just plug this in and it should take care of all your issues."

"Thanks." She accepted the drive and headed back towards home, where she did just as Neil had instructed and restarted her computer. It worked perfectly, all pop-ups gone!

And there were speech bubbles by the icons of her two best friends. She chose to click Neil's first—a pair of Tesla coils with Tesla controlling electricity between them.

 _So, did my little fail-safe work?_

 _ **Computer is working good as new.**_

 _I put our old favorite game on it._

 _Remember Demon's Blade?_

 _ **Oh, yeah, I do!**_

 _ **I don't think I've played that in forever!**_

 _They've been updating it._

 _Just grab your old save file from their server and pick up where you left off._

 _ **I'll keep that in mind! : )**_

 _Great. See you tomorrow._

 _ **Bye**_

She clicked Max's icon—a picture of him flipping off the camera with his arm slung around her. The picture had been taken the day before she'd left for college, when David had insisted on getting a picture of the two of them together.

 _Hey, you get that porn off your computer yet?_

 _I heard you broke it with too much porn._

 _ **Neil told me you do the same thing so don't go porn-shaming me.**_

 _Who's porn-shaming? I'm not._

 _ **: P**_

 _You know, you shouldn't stick out that tongue if you don't know how to use it._

 _ **Who says I don't?**_

 _ **I was at college for two years.**_

There was no response for a minute and she got worried.

 _ **Max? You alive?**_

 _ **Shit. I think I broke your brain.**_

 _No, you didn't. I just got this image in my head and_

 _Never mind._

 _ **I was joking.**_

 _ **I didn't actually get with anybody at college.**_

 _ **Wait, what kind of image did you get?**_

 _I said never mind, bitch._

 _ **Okay, yeah, I think I know now.**_

 _You know, Nurf told me that they used to hide porn in a hollow log out in the woods._

 _Be awkward if you were hiking out to the porn_

 _And some guy was already there._

 _ **They'd be best friends, bonding over their love of porn.**_

 _ **Like we do.**_

 _Uh, no._

 _We bond over pranks, fake flirting, and this shithole town._

 _Not porn. I don't ever want to watch porn with you._

 _ **Same here.**_

 _Hey, there's a party tomorrow night up at Lake Lilac. A bunch of people home from college and stuff for the weekend._

 _You should ask Erin to drive us up._

 _ **What? No. I don't think she likes me.**_

 _C'mon. Party. Drinks. A chance to make fun of stupid-drunk people._

 _Just like high school._

 _And Erin's cool. She drives us around a lot._

 _ **Fine. I'll ask.**_

 _Sweet._

 _ **And we're going with the typical system?**_

 _Yeah, yeah._

 _Guy gets too handsy with you, I run over and pretend to be your boyfriend._

 _Not rocket science, Nik._

 _ **That's Neil's field, anyway.**_

 _Which Neil?_

 _ **The Neil that wore a fishbowl on his head until middle school.**_

 _ **He was in the aerospace program at the same college I was at.**_

 _Ah. True rocket science._

 _Don't forget to ask Erin at the Ol' Pickaxe._

 _ **I won't. See you tomorrow, asshole.**_

 _See you, bitch._

* * *

Candy was sitting in the kitchen and reading a book when Nikki came downstairs. Nikki hopped up on the counter and looked at her mother with a sigh.

"Morning, Mom."

"All-day mom. Every day mom."

"Oh, God. In some houses, they have dad jokes. In our house, we have mom jokes."

"We have both, sweetie. What are your plans today?"

"Might go to a party later with Max and Neil and Erin."

"Look at you! Back two days and already the social butterfly!"

"Yeah, I'm in pretty high demand."

"Looks like most of the repair workers have cleared out of Towne Centre."

"Good."

"I do _not_ want you up on the powerlines."

"Mom, I'm twenty!"

"Uh-huh, which means you go to jail for it."

"They'd _never_ catch me."

"Your aunt Molly catches you up there, there's no telling what she'll do."

"Well, I'm going to head out." Nikki hopped down off the counter.

"Have a good day, Nicolette."

"See you around, 24/7 Mom."

Nikki was beginning to realize that she was going to see the same thing every single day when she walked towards Towne Centre. Nerris was sitting on her porch. Neighbors she couldn't remember the names of were out in their yards. But today, the biggest difference (besides the workers being cleared out) was that David was up on his roof.

"He's going to break his damn neck," commented Gwen Sanchez, one of her former guidance counselors.

"You know you can't stop him from doing this stuff!" Nikki snorted.

"God knows Max and I have tried."

"God's the only one who can help him if he falls."

"I can hear you!" David called from the roof.

"How do I get up there, anyway?"

"David climbed through the bedroom window, but I know _you_ can get up there with the powerlines."

"You're saying I should?"

"Hey, Molly's nowhere near here, and Sal's out dealing with Nurf again. No cops, anything's legal. Besides, you've been doing it since you were a kid. You haven't fried yet."

"Okay. I'll go up there later, after I go see Erin."

"See you."

Nikki passed the church and found the Ol' Pickaxe, where Erin was sitting behind the counter. She had a cigarette in her hand as she talked to one of the employees.

"Yeah, Bill. Write it up as on the clock."

"She's not gonna like that," Bill warned the blue-haired girl.

"I don't care if she doesn't like it. It was her fault, plain and simple. That is time extra; we charge for that."

Bill muttered to himself as he headed into the back. Nikki grimaced; Erin was in business mode and not in the mood to be messed with.

"H-hi, Erin," she greeted her old friend.

"Hi. What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask if you would drive me, Max, and Neil up to the party at Lake Lilac this weekend."

"Thanks for clarifying. Otherwise, I might've been confused as to which of the _dozens_ of parties going down on a given night in Sleepy Peak you were referring to."

"Does that mean you won't do it?" Erin took a drag from her cigarette, then sighed.

"I'll drive."

"Thank God!"

"We'll be by your house at eight to pick you up. Be ready or we're going without you."

"Okay."

"No, seriously, go home and get ready."

"Fine. See you later, then!"

"Bye."

Nikki exited the store and began walking towards home. David was still up on his roof, but she decided to save that for another day and get ready to go to the party. Upon entering the house, she discovered both her parents home and in the kitchen—a rare occurrence given their respective work schedules.

"Hi, sweetie," Candy greeted her. "You ready for dinner?"

"Sure. What are we having?"

"I made tacos."

"Excuse me, _we_ made tacos," William corrected good-naturedly.

"Tacos?" Nikki repeated.

"Tacos!" Candy affirmed.

"The family that tacos together rockos together," William stated jokingly. He was met with deadpan stares from his wife and daughter.

"Honey, no."

"I am so angry right now."

"You've all turn against me!" he protested in a good-natured manner.

"Do you want sour cream on your taco, Nicolette?"

"I. Want. EVERYTHING."

Once dinner was finished, Nikki headed up to her room and stretched before checking her watch. It was 7:50.

"Okay, okay. Time to get ready for the party. Better make sure I don't look like a cave beast." She looked in the mirror.

She was short, about 5'5", with curly, pale green hair that went down past her shoulder blades. Her eyes were her other most striking feature—a bright magenta color she'd inherited from her mother. As for her clothes, she wore a bright yellow shirt with a 'no' symbol on it and a pair of blue jeans. Her shoes were a pair of black hiking boots, perfect for running around in.

"Looking good."

 _I look horrible. I have a nightmare face._

"I can do this. I'm a smoothie."

 _You shouldn't be around people._

"Hi, I'm Nikki. It's nice to meet you!"

 _That sounds normal._

"Really? That's fascinating!"

 _Good…_

"That is so true. Well, see you later."

 _Good. You sound normal. Nobody can prove you're not normal._

"Yeah, I'm normal. Besides, everyone looks normal in the dark. I'm pretty sure that's the only way sex works."

 _This is a mess…_

"I'm a mess. Wheel me out to the curb for garbage day."

A horn honked outside.

"Oh, they're here!"

 _Good luck, kid._

"I don't need luck. I make my own luck. With a luck machine."

* * *

"Ugh."

Nikki wiped some beer droplets off her chin.

"I hate beer. Can't remember the last time I drank beer."

She looked around at the spot they were in. A bonfire was raging in the center of everything, with several people holding cups of beer and chatting. One guy was sitting on a log and playing guitar. Erin was talking to some guy who looked like an artsy type, while Max and Neil were kind of watching the goings-on from a corner. She chose to go to them first.

"Party's kind of… lame," she told her two friends.

"Yeah. It's just a 'look at where we've gone' kind of thing," Neil replied. "Not really a 'party and get drunk' kind of thing."

"And can you _believe_ this douchebag with a guitar?" asked Max.

"Back at college, there'd always be some frat guy sitting under a tree with a guitar, trying to look all 'sensitive'," Nikki agreed. "For some reason, they'd think girls were into that. And a lot of girls are, but a lot of them just _aren't_."

"I like this song. Is this a douchebag song?" Neil inquired.

"Don't worry about it. I'm gonna talk to Erin."

"Watch out for Jason." Nikki felt a chill go up her spine at the name.

"You gonna talk to him?" Max lowered his voice. He was _not_ Jason's biggest fan.

"Maybe. Keep an eye out for me."

She ended up drinking two more cups of beer before she started to feel it. The drunkenness that usually accompanied her going out to a party with her friends. And in her inebriated state, she was more likely to make stupid or rash decisions. Hence why she was now wandering up to Erin while stumbling a bit.

"Hi, Erin!" she greeted her.

"What? Oh, God, you're drunk."

"You're kinda grouchy, you know that?"

"Nikki, you need to go sit by the fire and chill."

"I'M GONNA RUN AROUND NAKED IN THE WOOODS!"

"Go. Sit. Now."

"Fine." Nikki stumbled over to an empty tree stump, where she sat down and was approached by a familiar face.

"Hey, Nikki." It was fucking Jason.

"H-hey, Jay-Jay!"

"Wow, I don't think anybody's called me that in a long time. How are you?"

"Shut up already."

"What?"

"And iz not my fault I'm a total trashfire!" She stood up on the stump, getting the attention of everyone there. "I got _nightmare eyes_ , and the last thing you see is my eyes outside the window, and then I stab you with my knife! Stab, stab, stab! BOOM. Dead."

"Uh-oh," muttered Max.

"When the police get there, you're al S."

"New nickname!" Neil called unhelpfully.

"So don't eff with me, kid!" she snapped to Jason. He bit his lip.

"Okay, Nikki, you're threatening people now," Erin warned, taking her cigarette out of her mouth.

"I am gonna get in shape and kick all asses! I'm gonna eat everyone I see!"

"Nikki, I think you need to—"

"EFF COLLEGE!"

"Yeah!" Max agreed.

"All those rich kids writing sex and having papers with each other—and that _damn statue_ , pointing at me every damn day. Supposed to be the _founder_ but it's just shapes."

"Nikki…" Erin was starting to worry more now.

"I… I'm a total trash mammal! And nothing is ever going to work out!" She was calming down and tears were forming in her eyes. "We never had a chance here, but I can't go anywhere else. I'm home again, and I can do something besides sleep. And cry alone." She burped a bit, then continued. "Because things aren't just _things_ here, you know?"

"I'm getting her out of there," Erin whispered to Neil.

"Oh, _God_ , I'm so sick to _death_. Does that make sense, Jay-Jay?"

"Nikki… I didn't mean to upset you. I've always thought you were—"

"Home again!" Nikki threw her arms out, then gagged before throwing up all over the ground. "Aw, man… tacos."

"That's it." Erin made her way over and pulled Nikki off the stump. "I'm taking you home."

"Nik, I'm sorry," Max mumbled, realizing he hadn't covered her ass like he'd promised.

* * *

In Erin's car, Nikki still felt terrible.

"If you puke in this car, so help me…" grumbled Erin.

"Remember when we uzta be best friends?"

"No, I don't."

"I called you Rin-Rin, and you called me Nik-Nak?"

"Oh, you mean when we were like, ten? No, I don't."

"Remember when we were in scouts together and we caught that turtle?"

"Yeah, Boxy the turtle. He died."

"Whyoo so madatme all the time?" She hiccupped. "Aw, man, if I puke in here, your parents are gonna kill me. Tell your mom I'm sorry, okay? She's so nice." Erin lost her patience.

"Goddammit, Nikki!"

"What?"

"My mother is dead."

"WHAT?!"

"She _died_. Of cancer. Senior year."

"Oh no! She was so _nice_!"

"How did you not know this? Did you forget about my dead mom?"

"I'm sorry, Erin. I'm acting lika jerk."

"What happened to you?! You used to be smart! You used to be cool! You used to be worth talking to!"

Nikki let out a sniff.

"Oh, did college not work out for you?! Was it _inconvenient_? Were you _not in the mood_?"

Nikki sniffed again.

"I would've killed for that. I still would. I'd kick you out of this moving car right now if it meant I could go to college."

Nikki started sobbing as the car halted.

"We're here. Get the hell out of my car."

Nikki sobbed harder and Erin felt her hard exterior melt.

"Oh, God, let me help you in." Erin helped Nikki up the stairs to her room, where the green-haired girl collapsed onto her bed.

"I'm sorry, Erin, I'm a mess," Nikki mumbled.

"Yeah, well, you're just a kid."

"I'm older than you. Two months!"

"I stayed here and got older and you went off and stayed the same." Erin looked at one of her oldest friends, collapsed in bed and already asleep, and suddenly she realized that college really hadn't been for Nikki. It would've been torture for her to stay when she was miserable there.

And it wasn't Nikki's fault she hadn't been able to go to college.

"Good night, Nik-Nak."


	3. House Call

_She was holding a bat in her hands—she knew that for sure. The whole world around her was dark and she could hear whispers just out of the range of her ability to understand them. Before her, there were cars and she could see a town sign—a sign for Durkillesburg, the town where she'd, until recently, attended college._

 _She ran forward, hitting the car windows with a bat and shattering as many as she could. Tires popped and the cars sank to the ground as she jumped up to the neon sign that flashed above. Quickly, she smashed the D, U, R, S, B, U, and G in the sign. Now, it flashed KILLER._

 _Her nickname._

 _The name that she'd carried all through high school and that younger kids obviously saw as her badge of honor. They thought she was insane and strong._

 _She made her way up a nearby hill, smacking trashcans and busting lampposts as she went. At the top, she found the statue of the college's founder—an abstract creation made up of shapes that seemed to just be shapes._

 _Fury filled her. The statue was pointing right at her, just like it had every goddamn day at college. And she took her bat to the legs. The metal creaked as first the pointing finger fell, followed by the body, and finally, the head. It crashed to the ground with a great ruckus, the vibrations sending her sprawling._

 _The world around her became blurry…_

As her dream faded, Nikki sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes from the sudden sunlight that streamed into them. She proceeded to her normal routine—getting dressed, pulling on her boots, and going downstairs to talk to her mother.

"Morning, Mom."

"Hey, hon. You look like crap."

"Thanks. I feel like it, too."

"Also, it's four PM, sweetie."

"I know."

"So, what are your plans for today?"

"Dunno. I'm gonna see what Neil, Max, and Erin are up to, I guess."

"You know, I always liked Erin as your best friend. Such a nice and responsible girl, always working hard to be the best at whatever she did…"

"Yeah, well, I'll talk to her first. Thanks, Mom."

"Bye, sweetie. Have a good day!"

No neighbors were outside for her to talk to that day, so she just jogged along until she spotted David on his roof again. Given that she'd blown him off for the sake of a party the day before, she decided to climb the powerlines and made it up to where the telescope was. David gave her a smile as she landed next to him.

"Ready to look at those dusk stars?" he asked.

"Sure. What's a dusk star?"

"They're special stars that only come out when the sun is just barely set, like now. I put a filter and a sensor on my telescope to see them better, and each one has a story behind it. Go ahead and look."

Nikki peered through the telescope and carefully moved it around until the sensor started going crazy. David took a glance and nodded, approving of her quick discovery.

"That's Aurelia and Fabius, the Lovers," he explained. "A rare _double_ dusk star."

"So why is it called 'the Lovers'?"

"Well, according to the legend, they lived in the Roman empire. Aurelia was the beautiful and hot-headed daughter of a nobleman and Fabius was a slave within her father's house. They fell in love when they were in their early teens and planned to run away together so that Aurelia wouldn't have to marry Claudius—a man her father chose for her to marry. But… they were found out."

"Her dad didn't take it well."

"No. In fact, he had poor Fabius thrown in the Colosseum to be put in a gladiator fight. Aurelia was brought to the arena on the day of his fight and forced to watch as he was stabbed to death by a gladiator much bigger and more experienced. A few weeks later, after being forced to marry Claudius and receiving the sword that had killed her love as a wedding present, Aurelia killed herself on the same sword."

"That's _hard-core_."

"It is. The double dusk star was put in the sky to commemorate their love, and to unite them forever in the afterlife."

Nikki began moving the telescope again, resting on a second dusk star. David nodded in approval and gave it a look.

"Ooh, this one's a good one! Piper, the rebel leader."

"Rebel leader sounds good."

"She was actually the true ruler of the kingdom she was rebelling against, taken from the palace as a baby to protect her from the coup that killed her parents. Piper became leader of the rebellion when she was sixteen to try and take back what she had lost. In fact, the person on the throne was her uncle Gregory, and she led a final charge to kill him."

"Did she?"

"No. It turned out that Gregory had wanted her to take her rightful place, and it had been his wife, Anne, who ordered the coup in the first place. Anne ended up killing Gregory, but Piper killed her aunt in retribution. In the end, Piper ruled her kingdom for many years and it didn't fall again for five hundred years."

"Wow."

"That's all we're going to be able to see for now. Come back some other time and I'll show you more."

Nikki nodded and headed back down to the street, where she made her way towards the Ol' Pickaxe. Erin was once again standing behind the counter, checking some paperwork and smoking a cigarette. The green-haired girl cleared her throat and got her old friend's attention. Erin set down the paperwork and looked at Nikki.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened last night. I shouldn't have drank so much, and it wasn't fair to you. I didn't say anything weird, did I?"

"No."

"Well, anyway, I want to be your friend again. Let's hang out tonight—do something together!"

"I'd love to, but I have something I need to do. A work call."

"I can totally come and help you!"

"Really? It's just going out to some lady's house and fixing her furnace. It's going to be boring."

"Please? I want to go."

"Sure. It could give you some work experience that you could use farther down the line."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Let's get going."

* * *

"Wow, she really lives a long way out, doesn't she?"

"They converted a bunch of old hunting cabins into houses back here. It's far away from nosy neighbors and the hustle and bustle of Town Centre." Her pace was much faster than Nikki's, which wasn't helped by the fact that Nikki had stopped at the end of the driveway to stare at some lawn décor.

"Check out this thing by the end of the driveway!"

"She's an old lady; she's got a lot of weird shit in her yard." Erin took a drag from her cigarette as she waited for Nikki to catch up.

"It's like a windmill!" Nikki was panting now.

"Okay, now remember—let _me_ do the talking."

"Yes, ma'am!" Nikki saluted and Erin let out a sigh as they approached the door. She knocked and it opened to reveal a woman in her seventies _at the youngest_.

"Oh, hello, Erin!" she said in a voice cracked with age. "Thank you for coming out here on such short notice!"

"Hello, Mrs. Miranda."

"Come in, come in!" The two girls followed her into the house, Erin putting out her cigarette before going inside and placing the butt into the wastebasket. "Right this way! I'm telling you, I could sleep through a tornado, but that damn furnace—I can't take the rattling! Oh, it's been even harder since they took Gene."

"Wait for it," whispered Erin to Nikki.

"Wait for what?"

"I'll never forgive them for taking him away. I read it online—he didn't smell or nothing!"

"Wait… for… it…"

"Took him right off the couch. It ain't right, I tell you. You can't take a woman's husband just because he's dead!"

Nikki's eyes widened in confusion while Erin hid a smile.

"There it is," she hissed before speaking louder. "It's a damn shame, Mrs. Miranda. We'll take a look at your furnace now."

"Oh, yes. But first, come take a look at my fridge." They followed her into the kitchen, where she stopped in front of her fridge.

"What's wrong with it?" inquired Erin.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted you to see it. A Luna Freeze! These were all the rage when I was your age. They can last through a nuclear fallout!"

"Hey, I saw one of those when I came back into town!" Nikki gasped.

"Really? Where?"

"In the woods, at the bottom of a ravine."

Silence.

"So! Furnace?" Erin piped up, clapping her hands.

"Yes, yes! It's right in the basement!"

"We're going to be down there for a bit. Don't lock us in, please."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The last repairman I sent out here got locked down there."

"I assure you I did no such thing!"

"He called me from your basement."

"Well, your man did smell a bit of _booze_ when he came by."

"We're heading down now." The two twenty-year-olds descended into the basement, Nikki peering around curiously as they approached the furnace.

"It looks like it has a little face!" Nikki commented.

"Yep."

"I've decided his name is Clanky."

"Okay. I'm going to take a look back here. You stay where you are and don't touch anything."

"But I can help!"

"Nikki…"

"Yes?"

"Nothing you say will make me allow you to touch this furnace." Nikki pouted.

"This should only take a few minutes." Erin disappeared around the back and Nikki took a look at the front.

She then walked around the basement, picking up a garden gnome, fishing pole, tennis racket, and a small fan. Each item was placed on the front of the furnace. Stepping back, Nikki smiled as she admired her work and rubbed her hands together, preparing to test out the solution she'd so carefully thought out before putting it together.

"Okay, done." Erin emerged from behind the furnace.

"Aw, already?" whined Nikki. Erin looked at Nikki's solution and raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do?"

"I engineered an elegant, long-term solution!"

The entire thing fell apart.

"Goddammit."

"Wow, Nikki. Do me a favor and never try to take care of anything again. Like, don't even have a pet."

Nikki pouted again as she gave one last longing look to the items she'd collected before following Erin to the basement door. Erin reached out and tried to turn the knob. No luck. They were locked in, just like the guy Erin had sent out before to try and fix the furnace. The blue-haired girl started hammering on the door with her fist to try and get Mrs. Miranda's attention.

"Shit! We're locked in!"

"I'm going to try and find a way out." Erin kept banging on the door, while Nikki gave another look around the basement.

 _The only thing she_ **could** _hear was the furnace, but that was when it was broken. It has to be broken again and we'll get out._

A baseball bat was leaning against a wall. Immediately, Nikki ran for it and picked it up. A smile crossed her face and Erin caught sight of her.

"Nikki, what are you doing?"

"I'm using the one tool I _do_ know how to use: a tool for beating ass!"

She rushed Clanky (poor guy) and started smacking it with the bat. It was some of the loudest noise she'd ever heard in her entire life, especially once it was _sufficiently_ broken enough to start roaring like it had before they'd came. Erin covered her ears, gritting her teeth to try and block out the sound.

"That's pretty loud! I'm surprised I can't hear it back in town!"

Footsteps approached the door.

"Okay, she's coming. Hey, Mrs. Miranda, you locked us in!"

* * *

Erin stared out at Mrs. Miranda's yard, cigarette hanging from her mouth. Nikki was sitting next to her, swinging her legs and humming.

"She was pretty nice about the whole thing," Nikki pointed out.

"Yeah."

"She gave us lemonade!"

"Mm-hmm."

"You not like lemonade?"

"No, I'm just… thinking."

"You need like, some magical shit to make you happy."

"Well, when you find it, be sure to let me know."

Nikki stood up and went out into the yard. Erin took another drag from her cigarette and sighed. She really hated house calls, particularly when it came to Mrs. Miranda. The old woman was nice—really, she was—but she was scatterbrained and elderly. That was why she had a tendency to lock her basement rather than her front door. She was grateful that Nikki had come along, making a very boring routine more entertaining.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, Erin looked around her to see fireflies. Nikki was standing there, smiling broadly as the insects flew around them. Erin couldn't help but smile in response as one landed on her arm.

"Nikki, how did you…?"

"I found some magical shit to make you smile!"

"That you did." Erin gave her a look. "You're an interesting person, Nikki Morrison."

"Granddad used to say that being interesting was all you could hope to be."

"That's true. He's right. This evening wouldn't have been as exciting if you hadn't been along for the ride."

"See? I'm good to have around."

"I mean, you can certainly beat the shit out of a furnace."

"I can beat the shit out of anything."

"You should, like, channel all that aggression you always have into something useful."

"Eh. Doctor Hank said way back that I needed to repress it."

" 'Repress'? Not like, 'learn to deal with it'?"

"He _specifically_ said repress."

"Hm."

They were silent for a moment.

"So, do you think Mrs. Miranda pulled all her husband's guts out? Isn't that what you do for mummies?"

"I dunno, Nikki."

"Do you think you'd have the stomach for it?"

"Nope."

"It probably took a lot of heart."

"Yep."

"I wish she would ex-spleen it to us."

"I get it, Nikki."

"She really rectum!"

"Okay, that probably stayed in place."

"Yeah. That should stay where it be-lungs!"

"I'm leaving." Erin got up and started walking towards her car.

"Hey! You gotta liver your life!"

"Bye. This is me gone."

"Hey! Wait up!" Nikki ran after her.

"You're walking back to town."

"You've got a lot of gall to say that!"

"I'm calling the cops."

And thus ended the beginning of Nikki and Erin's rebuilding of their friendship. All it took was a scatterbrained old lady, a furnace, a baseball bat, and some fireflies. But it was a beginning that they desperately needed, and one that they wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon. Unless, of course, something far more memorable and terrifying happened, but what were the odds of _that_?

* * *

 **An important note to make about this story is that I'm actually varying between my own dialogue and taking dialogue straight from the game itself. Some things are things that were written by me; both of David's dusk star stories are based off actual short stories I've written in the past. In fact, one is being written into a novel. Other things, such as the body puns at the end of the chapter, were taken directly from the game.**

 **While not everything that happened in the game will happen in this story, I'm going to try and fit in my personal favorite hangouts. Stuff like the Mrs. Miranda bit, the knife fights, and the heaviest hangout in the game (endgame spoilers) will be put into this story. I love these characters and I want to do more with my Angus character than they actually did in the fucking game.**

 **In other news, while I was working on this chapter, somebody actually copy-pasted my story and replaced Nikki with Max. I'm not going to name a name (they know who they are), but it has been dealt with. The person who did it took down their story after I calmly messaged them like the adult I am. I honestly appreciate when we can all do things like adults on the Internet because it doesn't happen often enough.**

 **So long and thanks for all the fish!**


	4. Wounds

_Everything was hazy again._

 _The landscape around Nikki was twisted and unfamiliar, the stars above faint despite the lack of lights to dim them. She felt cold and hot at the same time and her stomach twisted uncomfortably as she began to wander through the unrecognizable area, lanterns lighting up when she passed by them. As she approached some sort of tower, a ghostly man appeared playing a song on a tuba. It was an eerie tune that felt familiar yet she was sure she'd never heard it before._

 _She continued to walk and found a second odd tower. This one had a ghostly man, too, only playing an accordion. Two other towers had a flute player and a violinist, respectively. Eventually, she made her way right back to where she started, where the ground shook and a spectral bear appeared. Its eyes glowed and she felt dizzy, collapsing onto the ground and everything in her vision going black._

Nikki gasped as she woke up.

"Never had one like that before…" she mumbled, getting up and starting to get dressed.

After greeting her mother, she headed out to the street. Still, people were going about their days. The dream she'd had was still in her mind, refusing to leave her alone. Just like the other one. What was going on?

Her feet carried her to the Snack Falcon without even thinking. There, Max was looking a little more perked up as she entered.

"Nikki!" he greeted her.

"Hey, Max! Whoa, you look excited. What parallel dimension is this?"

"Let's just go. C'mon, before my boss shows up!"

"Where are we going?"

"Doesn't matter. As long as it's out of here."

She followed him out to the parking lot, where a motorized bike was sitting. She recognized it as the same one he'd fixed up with the help of David and Ered when they'd been in high school. Max held out a helmet, which she accepted. Nikki climbed on behind him as he started the motor and they headed off into the woods.

The landscape they passed was unmistakably that of fall, leaves falling from the trees in the autumn rainbow that tended to accompany the changing season. A smell of rain hung in the air, too, the kind that told you there might be a storm in a day or two. Max laughed as a leaf hit her in the face and she giggled back.

"How long's it been since we were out here?" she asked.

"Since before graduation," he stated.

"Holy shit. I forgot how beautiful it was. Some might even say…"

"Sexual."

"I was gonna say 'romantic', you dick."

"I know. I just wanted to say it."

"You don't have a filter, do you?"

Max went silent and stopped the bike, leaping off it to head straight for a fallen log. Nikki pulled off her helmet and ran after him. He climbed onto the log with his closest friend following suit.

"Dude, seriously, what's up?"

"You remember when we used to come out here in high school?"

"Of course I do. You, me, Ered, and Neil—we loved it out here."

"I remember us doing stupid shit."

"Yeah, like knife-fighting. We'd go home with cuts all over our hands and David would lose his mind while Gwen patched us up. I kicked your butt every time."

"No, you didn't!"

"Uh, yes, I did. Or did the blood loss mess with your memory?"

"We could do it now and settle this."

"What?"

"I've got knives. Just saying."

"This is stupid."

"You don't want to…"

"No. Give me the damn knife, you jerk."

Max handed her one of the blades he'd pulled out of his backpack and she took up her position as he stabbed his own a few times… just to test it out.

"Standard rules," he told her. "First to wuss out three times loses."

"Of course."

Their first thrusts of the knives clanged off of each other, the sound reverberating throughout the forest. Nikki made the first strike, a small bloody spot appearing on the back of Max's hand.

"Ow…" He pushed his blade forward, missing Nikki as she hit him again. "Shit!"

A third strike.

"FFFFFFF—" he hissed. "Dammit!"

"You done?"

"No. Again."

Max won the second round, Nikki yelping each time the sharp instrument made contact.

"Best two out of three," she insisted.

It was close and lasted the longest, but Nikki won in the end.

"Okay, fine. I give, I give!" Max declared, dropping the knife as she laughed.

"I am the _queen_ of crimes!"

"To commemorate your coronation, Your Majesty, let's break this log." She chuckled and dropped her blade.

One jump.

Two jumps.

Three jumps.

The log snapped and the two sprawled onto the ground, staring up at the late-afternoon sky. They laid there, saying nothing as the clouds moved overhead in a swirling pattern.

"It's like… law, that if you find a log in the forest or a puddle covered in ice, you have to snap the log or break the ice," she sighed. "Kind of a way to make a mark. You know?"

"Like saying you were here. You did something. It was small, but it was something."

 _What's up with him today? He was all hyper then he was downer Max. And then he was all hyper again… now he's quiet._

"You always hated camping."

"Oh, _God_ , yeah. David was always trying to get me 'out in nature' or some stupid shit like that. It didn't matter how much I complained; he just wanted to spend time with me in the middle of nowhere."

"Meanwhile, I _wanted_ to go camping all the time and my parents were more about… town living. With fewer animals and indoor plumbing. I wanted to switch places with you so badly…"

"I was a little shit. Let's just say that. David was doing his best to raise me and I fought him every step of the way."

"But look at you now."

"Yeah."

He stood up and ran off, Nikki scrambling to follow. Max had stopped in a clearing, where some kind of mish-mashed decoy was standing. From a hollow tree he retrieved a crossbow, one that she recognized as being from the time that Mr. Campbell had attempted to take him hunting.

"You still have that?"

"It's a fucking _crossbow_ , Nikki. That isn't something you get rid of, even if hunting is complete bullshit. You ever been?"

"My dad wasn't the hunting type. And Granddad saw it as more of a guy thing."

"That bother you?"

"Nope. I agree on it being complete bullshit." He handed her the weapon.

"Here, take a shot or two."

She took it, the weight almost pulling her down.

"Damn, that's heavy!"

"Just aim, hold down the trigger, and hit the Forest God."

"I will be the new Forest God."

"Hell yeah."

Nikki carefully aimed, the scope shaking as she couldn't hold the weight of the crossbow. The first bolt she fired hit the owl head of the Forest God, dead-center.

"HEADSHOT!" Max said in his game-announcer voice. She fired another that hit in the eye. "Double-kill!"

"Oh my God, do you have to—"

" _Yes_ , I have to."

With a laugh, she fired and struck it in the heart.

One more shot and she was out of bolts.

"Well, that didn't last long…"

"I've gotta get more ammo for this thing," Max sighed, taking the crossbow back and wrapping it back in the plastic. It was placed into its hollow-tree home.

"So… what now?"

Instead of answering, Max jogged forward until they came to a pond. There, he stopped and stared across the water. Nikki joined him and bit her lip.

"Max, what's going on with you today? You're all over the place."

"I'm just… I'm a good person, right?"

"What are you talking about?" He sat down and hugged his knees to his chest, Nikki sitting beside him with her legs straight out.

"It's just—you know my story, about before I came to Sleepy Peak, right?"

"Not really. You never told me because you said it was too horrible for me to hear."

"I think it's time I told you, then. My birth parents were both really shitty people. Vihaan was a gangster, and Anaya was a hooker who he got pregnant and made his own personal whore. To them, I was nothing more than a nuisance who prevented them from enjoying themselves. If I wasn't being ignored, I was being beaten or screamed at. Nobody cared and one summer, they sent me away to camp."

"And you hated it."

"Of course I did. I hated everything. And at that camp, I met a pair of counselors. I made their lives hell since they were the only ones in charge. Pranks, running away, even outright setting fires that they had to put out. One of them was completely done with me—she even called me Satan."

"What about the other one?"

"That's where it gets… weird. He never got mad at me for anything I did. No matter what, he insisted on making sure I had a good summer. He _cared_. And when the end of summer came… he did something I'll never forget. David adopted me."

"Wait. Wait a second. You met David because he was your _camp counselor_?!"

"Yeah. The other counselor was Gwen."

"Okay, now it makes sense why she has that whole thing with you."

"Thanks. Anyway, lately, I've been thinking about shit. We're twenty now and that was the age where my parents went from normal to drug-addicted, child-abusing gangsters. I know that David won't let me go down that road. I know he won't. But there's a voice in the back of my head that won't go away. It says that I'm worthless, that I'm going to end up like my birth parents. I can't sleep at night. It affects my appetite. And I have some really up-up days or down-down days and I don't know what kind it'll be until it's over."

"When did this start happening? Like, how long has it been a thing?"

"A while, I guess. Maybe a year or so ago."

"Max…"

"I haven't told David or Neil or Gwen or Erin because I don't want to drag them into this shit inside my head. They wouldn't get it."

"And you told me because…?"

"I don't know. I trust you or some shit like that."

"I'm glad you do. Sometimes talking is all you need."

He sniffed, wiping at his eyes and laughing a bit.

"Thanks, Nikki."

For a moment, they sat in silence and looked at the two long-legged birds standing in the pond.

"What kind of birds do you think those are?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Hey! Bird! What are you?!" The bird chirped. "Northern Dumbfowl."

"Eastern Skinnybird."

"Do they fly south?"

"Yes. Absolutely. They're only still here because they're too dumb."

"Ha, yeah." He smiled. "Hey, Nikki?"

"Yeah, Max?"

"Let's just head back now."

* * *

Another night, another dream. This one had the same musicians in a broken-down area, the same eerie melody, and the same bizarre conclusion—just this time with a squirrel. Nikki woke up and found that Sleepy Peak was covered in fog and rain. Pretty standard for fall, actually. She logged onto her computer to find messages waiting.

 _Hey, Nik._

 _Sorry about being so heavy yesterday._

 _I decided to talk to David last night about my problem._

 _He cried then told me we'll get through this._

 _I think telling you first helped me tell him._

 _Thanks for listening._

 _I'm taking the day off and resting up at home, so I can't hang today._

 _Sorry._

She smiled a bit.

 _So I guess I missed you yesterday._

 _Had a lot of shit to do._

 _I'll be at the Pickaxe all day if you wanna see me or hang out._

Erin didn't mind her coming by. _Yes!_

 _Morning, Nikki!_

 _I'll be at the Ink & Film today if you wanna stop by._

 _I have a fun idea we can do if you're interested._

 _It's science… and destructive._

Science and destructive. Neil's favorite thing and her favorite thing, together. That was a good sign.

 _I'll hang out with Erin another time._

 _I haven't spent any time with Neil since I came back._

Candy was sitting in the kitchen, looking a little… depressed and stressed out. Nikki approached with caution.

"Mom, is something wrong?"

"Just… adult stuff, sweetheart. Don't worry about it."

"I'm adult stuff. I can handle it."

"Well, it's nothing you need to be concerned about. Go on out and do whatever it is you do."

"You can talk to me, Mom."

"Not about this. This is something you don't need to worry about. Let me worry."

"Okay…"

Nikki headed out, a light jacket thrown on for the early-fall chill. As usual, neighbors were out and about. She walked along towards Ink & Film and took in the foggy morning. What kind of project did Neil want her help with?

"Hey, Nikki," Neil greeted her as she entered.

"I heard science and destruction and I'm there," she stated bluntly.

"Well, then, come along with me." He pulled a bat out from under the counter and handed it to her.

"Okay. Yes. Let's do this."

The two headed out to an abandoned area of town where there was a lone car sitting there. It had been there so long a tree was growing through it. Neil smiled.

"This is it."

"What?"

"I want you to smash up this car. Especially to open the hood."

"Yes!" She rushed forward and began to smack the bat against the metal body of the vehicle. Glass shattered and the hood popped open as the tires hissed and deflated. Neil approached the car with gloves on as he cut the wires to something and lifted out a car battery.

"This is what I wanted. Thanks, Nikki. Now for the second part."

"Second part?"

"Remember the Food Donkey robot mascots?"

"Yeah?"

"I got one."

"You _didn't_."

"I did. And we're going to fix it up."

"How. How did you get one?"

"I bribed Nurf to get it for me when the store closed. He was even willing to carry it into the house for me. Not a bad guy, all things considered."

The two headed back towards David's, where the teacher was out for parent night at the school. Neil brought the battery to his room. Scattered robot parts sat on his bed, including the head of the robot frog that Nikki had loved/been the most afraid of.

"Let's put this baby together."

For an hour, Nikki and Neil screwed on limbs and the head, rearranging when something seemed to fit better elsewhere. That had been Nikki's favorite part of science in high school—the brief robotics course that had been added to the curriculum. Even though she was terrible at science, she'd managed to get an A for that quarter.

"Okay, now it's put together. Isn't it supposed to move?"

"That's what the battery's for. Careful."

They clamped the jumper cables onto the battery and Nikki decided she wanted to do the honors. After clearing away the leaves that were scattered around the switch, she pressed the button, a slight electric current shocking her as the robot began to move.

"We did it!" Neil cheered. His door opened to reveal Max.

"Whoa. What the _fuck_? You okay, Nik?"

"I'm fine," she stated, shaking her hand that still stung.

After all, she was spending time with friends again.

What could be better than that?

* * *

 **It's sad that I wrote everything past the dream sequence over the course of a single math class. Not joking, I'm writing this in math class. I know how to do inequalities, thank you very much.**

 **Next time, we'll start the plot for real.**

 **So long and thanks for all the fish!**


	5. Harfest

**UPDATE ON MY PLAYTHROUGH OF THE GAME**

 **I HAVE COMPLETED THE GREGG ENDING**

 **WORKING ON BEA**

 **ONWARD!**

* * *

 _The new dream was like the prior two—hunting spectral musicians through a desolate and abstract landscape, an eerie tune weaving through the smoke-filled air. Nikki could hear the sound of a train. In fact, the landscape_ _ **was**_ _a train. And it was Sleepy Peak, all at the same time. Figures faded in and out of view, figures of people she knew and people she'd seen. A neon sign welcomed her to the town as she hopped between the buildings, lighting the lamps and trying to find her targets._

"… _little creatures…"_

 _A hiss came from nowhere and she whirled around, trying to find the source._

 _"Hello?" she called._

 _Nothing._

 _Once all four were found, she returned to where she'd began. Screeching filled the air as a ghostly animal descended from the sky above her. This time, it was a crocodile that opened its jaws and burst into little bits of light as the train-town faded around her and she collapsed._

Her eyes shot open and she sat up, still trying to make sense of the dream as she checked the messages on her computer. Neil and Erin both had away messages, Erin mentioning something about the annual Harfest play being held at the Ol' Pickaxe. Neil was helping out with the annual haunted house at the high school—probably doing the special effects to make it more spooky. Max was back at work, though probably not for long considering it was Halloween.

Her favorite holiday.

Nikki rushed downstairs to find Candy sitting in the kitchen with a paper in her hand, looking grumpy and annoyed.

"Morning, Mom." Nikki hopped up on the counter.

"Morning, hon."

"What's that?"

"Just a bill." Candy set it down. "Honey, I think it's time we talk about school. Why did you come home?"

"It…"

Did she tell her mother about the shapes…?

"I just thought it wasn't where I should be."

"Really."

"Yeah, I mean, I needed to come home. To this town, to my friends, to this house…"

"Well enjoy this house while we still have it." Nikki leapt up.

" _What?!_ "

"Maybe it 'isn't where we should be'."

"Mom, you're scaring me."

"You shouldn't be scared. Go out and do whatever it is you do every day."

"Hey, you can't just say something like that and tell me to leave!" Nikki slammed her hand on the table.

"So _now_ you care? You know you're the first—"

"Morrison to go to college. Yeah, Mom, I've only heard that since I was _six_!"

"Do you have any idea how much money we put into sending you to college? And you just _threw it away_!"

"Well, _Mom_ , maybe if I'd had more examples of—I don't know—making something of myself—"

"No. No, you don't get to—"

"So maybe I'm a failure. But maybe I'm just another failure in the long line of failures that is our family."

Silence.

"I'm going now. Bye, Mom."

Nikki felt a crushing weight on her heart as she walked out of the house.

 _You don't understand. The shapes…_

 _It's not that I didn't want to be there. But I couldn't_ _ **stay**_ _there._

 _I'm sorry, Mom…_

The whole town was decorated for Harfest, the annual celebration of both the founding of Sleepy Peak and Halloween. She spotted her aunt Molly blocking off the road for the parade. The sight of all the festive decorations and the prep work lifted her spirits slightly as she made her way towards the Snack Falcon. There, she found Max practicing cup-stacking with the slushy cups. He… kinda sucked at it. She giggled, catching his attention and making him knock his entire pile over. Max groaned, then smiled at her.

"Afternoon, Nik. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. What about you? David take you to a shrink yet?"

"That's in a few days. He made an appointment so I could talk to somebody with experience in this department."

"Good. Maybe you can figure all this out."

"Yeah, maybe. You going to Harfest tonight?"

"Of _course_. You _know_ how much I love Halloween."

"I remember you scaring the shit out of Neil every year."

"And that's why I love it. Any plans?"

"None, except for helping out Erin with the Harfest play. Apparently nobody cares about it and nobody's showing up to help her so she recruited me."

"Maybe she'll let me help."

"Yeah, maybe. But you should get changed."

"Dammit, I don't have a costume."

"Wait here."

Max slid off the stool and headed down one of the aisles. She tried to see what he was doing, but before she got a good view he was on his way back with a kind of badass-looking witch costume. He held it out to her.

"I'll charge it to my employee tab," he told her. "You need a costume, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Max."

"Don't mention it. You can change in the bathroom."

She rushed off and Max sighed as the door closed behind her.

 _Why are you nice to her? She'll leave you behind._

 _No she won't._

 _She already did once. You have too many issues._

 _Nikki has issues, too._

 _Not like yours._

 _Shut up. I need her. She's not going to leave again._

 _Sure…_

"Max?"

He snapped his head to the side to see Nikki in the witch costume. The dress went about three-quarters of the way down her thigh, the rest of her legs covered by striped stockings. Its sleeves went down to her elbows, the bodice of the costume hugging her frame. A cloak was draped around her shoulders. She looked simultaneously adorable and like she was going to curse someone. The hat only topped it off and she smiled at him.

"How do I look?"

"Like you're about to curse the shit out of somebody. You ready?"

"Yeah. Let's get going."

The two headed to the Ol' Pickaxe, where Erin was looking hopeless and depressed. Two other players—namely Preston Goodplay and Bill Jones—had showed up to be in the performance.

"Hey, Nikki," the blue-haired girl greeted her friend with a sigh.

"Erin, I'm here to save your ass. I will be in your dumb Harfest play."

"Oh my— _thank you_. I've had three no-shows and you and Max should be enough to save this. Chamber of Commerce owes me big-time. Anyway, the play doesn't start for another hour, so go enjoy the festival for a bit—both of you."

"Could… I get a copy of the script? I'm not sure how much of this I remember…"

"Yeah. They've rewritten it a bunch so it's not really _actual history_ now. Here you go."

Nikki took the script from Erin and began to skim through it. A frown crossed her face as she caught sight of the main plot and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I can do this. Thanks, Erin. Max, let's go explore!"

* * *

Main Street was alive with things to do. Well, really, there was a place where you could throw water balloons at members of the Chamber of Commerce and a fortune-telling stand. Nikki took full advantage of both and before she knew it she was heading back to the Pickaxe to be in the play. Erin shoved her behind the counter as people began to filter in for the performance. Preston and Bill stepped out on the counter wearing coonskin hats while Erin stood by the register.

"Oh. I didn't see ye there. Be ye ghosts?" Erin began. "Are be ye here to hear the tale of how Sleepy Peak came to be? Through the mists of time I see weary fur trappers, from 1793."

"Brother John!" Preston stated.

"Yes, Brother Steven?" Bill replied.

"From this vantage point I do spy a deep hollow and within, a great dead tree, and beside it a spring!"

"Blessed are we, Brother Steven, for truly my throat is parched from these long and arduous travels and carrying these three hundred beaver pelts."

"Let us make haste, oh excellent brother!"

Nikki and Max snickered to each other and Erin shot them a glare out of the corner of her eye. She then motioned for Nikki to make her entrance, the green-haired young woman clambering onto the counter.

"Ho! Travelers!" she greeted Preston and Bill. "Spare a crust of bread for a needy woman?"

"Haggard witch!" spat Bill.

"Horrible to look upon!" Preston gasped dramatically.

"Cruel young men. Ye did not even offer one of thy three hundred fine beaver pelts to warm my ancient bones!" She pointed accusingly. "I shall curse ye, and thee, and this very night ye shall perish!"

"I am fearful!" Preston covered his mouth, eyes wide.

"Steady, Brother Steven." Bill placed a hand on Preston's back. "I did not venture out into these hills to joust words with a hell-hag!"

"Yee hee hee hee!" Nikki cackled. "I was born among these trees, 'neath a harvest moon, and ye shall die under that moon!"

"Brother John, I am frightened!"

"Faith, Brother Steven! Art thou so easily shaken by the ramblings of an old crone? Come, help me carry these three hundred beaver pelts!"

"But little did anyone know that the witch did not curse in vain," Erin told the audience. Preston remained onstage while Bill and Nikki stepped off and Max made his way up.

"Uh… by the moon and stars above us, sir, I beseech thee. What is thy trouble?"

Nikki once again walked across the counter.

"I swear thee, friend, that on this very day, this horrifying crone did curse my brother and I to die!" Preston moaned.

"Zwounds!"

"We camped by this very spring beneath the dead tree and even now his body lieth upon the earth, lifeless as a pile of three hundred beaver pelts!"

"Oh! It chilleth the heart!"

"Ee hee hee hee!" Nikki cackled. "I did curse this spring so that any man who drinketh from it shall perish!"

"Aagh!" Preston yelled. "I am slain! I join thee now, Brother John!"

He jumped down from the counter and landed on the floor behind it.

"Wow," Nikki remarked.

"I am also undone, for I have dranketh of the water!" Max declared.

"Don't leave me, Max," she whispered.

"Bye." He followed Preston's example.

"And yet, even there, the curse's lust for blood would not be sated!" Erin informed the audience.

Preston and Bill climbed back onto the counter.

"Gaze upon them! Gaze upon these spirits!"

"Brother, we are now ghosts!" Bill told Preston. "Aah! I am tormented by the accusing glare of three hundred ghostly beavers!"

"It would seem that all who die here are cursed to never leave!" Preston replied.

"Doth that witch know what she hath done?"

Bill, Preston, and Erin walked off the counter and Nikki walked on by herself.

"Uh… um…" Her mind drew a total blank. _"Crap."_

" 'For…' " Erin prompted.

"For each man is determined on his path, and each path leads only to his end."

"Ok?"

"And yet each path may lead to places unknown," said a new voice from the corner. The hook-handed janitor from her first night back in Sleepy Peak walked out.

"You!" Nikki gasped. "From the bus station!"

"Young witch! It is I, the god of the forest!"

"Uh, just didn't expect you to…"

"Ain't that the way."

"So…"

"Witch, thou hast tarried too long in this world! I banish thee to wander in the night through the stranger places!"

Nikki was suddenly reminded of her dreams and her eyes widened.

"Oh, God… how did you know…"

"Young witch, let me speak wisdom to you: we begin and we end, at night, in the woods. But that is not the whole of the story."

She was silent and Erin popped her head up.

 _"This is your line."_

"Forest God, thou hast no power here!" Nikki declared.

"Even now, thy end beginneth."

"AAACK! My infernal powers!"

"Shhhh, young witch. Even now, the world you know endeth, and who can say what lieth in the world to come?"

"Wow."

"Beware as you go, for there are ghosts."

Preston, Bill, and Max began to make stereotypical ghost sounds.

"Take care."

The janitor walked away and Nikki watched him go. The others joined her on the counter.

"And so was founded then this festival. On Halloween, we shall celebrate the dying of the year and the founding of Sleepy Peak," Erin finished.

"Now leave, before I curse you all!" Nikki declared.

"Oh, no, audience! Thank you for listening to our tale, and be sure to take a Chamber of Commerce flyer on your way out. Support your _spooky_ local business!"

Laughter and applause broke out in the crowd, the group of performers bowing in response to the praise. Nikki couldn't shake the janitor from her mind, though.

 _Was he trying to warn me about something…?_

* * *

"Thanks again for helping out," Erin told the two as they stood outside the Pickaxe. "I know you both probably had better things to do."

"Not really," Max replied with a shrug.

"So… horror movies at my place?" Nikki suggested.

"David sent me a text. He wants me home."

"And I have to go out to this thing with the Chamber of Commerce. Sorry."

"Oh."

"Maybe next year." Erin and Max walked off and Nikki was left alone by the Pickaxe and the nearby war memorial. A teenager sat on their phone by the memorial.

 _Well, at least I'm not the only one who's alone…_

Suddenly, a figure dashed from the shadows and grabbed the teenager, knocking them out and dragging them away. Nikki's eyes widened and she looked frantically to see if there was anyone else around. There wasn't.

"Crap!"

She started to run, chasing the figure carrying the teen straight out to where the Food Donkey's abandoned building sat. They were already on the other side of the high fence in the woods where the mine was said to be. Nikki was completely speechless, not knowing what to say or how to say it.

"Nikki?"

The girl whirled around to see her aunt.

"Aunt Molly?"

"Get away from there. Shouldn't you be home by now?"

"But there's someone up there! He kidnapped someone!"

"Nikki, there's no one up there." Nikki turned and saw the figure was gone.

"Wait, b-but…"

"Come on. Let me take you home!"

"No, wait! Someone was there, I swear!"

"Let's go."

Nikki was led to her aunt's cop car and rode quietly home before collapsing in her bed. The figure refused to leave her mind, however, and she went to sleep with those turbulent thoughts in her head.

* * *

 **Plot.**

 **Plot is happening.**

 **So long and thanks for all the fish!**


End file.
